"Hold on!" Todd yells. He closes his eyes and focuses. There is an energy fanning the flames, and it feels familiar to him. Tapping into the energy, he tries to extinguish it. This only makes the dark flames grow as his energy flows into them.
Thinking quickly, he focuses on his energy and reverses the flow. The flames grow smaller; however, a burning sensation spreads throughout Todd's body as the dark flames absorb into it and run through his veins. Todd screams, but no sound escapes his mouth.
A voice hisses from the dark flames, "You can not hide any longer, Todd! Take these flames in your hand and lead the rebirth of the darkness!"
The pain is unbearable. Todd has no idea what the voice is talking about, nor does he see who it belongs to, but it did give him one idea. Focusing on separating the dark fire energy from his own, he concentrates it in his left hand. Immediately, the pain leaves his body.
"Todd are you okay? Oh no! It's back!" Emily screams.
Todd opens his eyes and looks around. The field is no longer on fire, Emily is okay, he is alive. He also has a raging ball of dark fire hovering above his left hand. Thrusting his arm upwards, he is careful to hold the ball of darkness as far from himself and the ground as possible
"Dispel!" he shouts, remembering something from magical history class for the first time in a year.
To his relief, it works, and the flames dissipate slowly. Todd sighs in relief as Emily runs over and kneels beside him. She leans over says something to him, but he is too tired to register her words. Exhaustion sets in as the adrenaline wears off, and his vision is clouded by darkness once again.
"Embrace the darkness," a voice hisses out of the blackness.
"Who is there?" Todd responds, trying to locate the source of the noise. Dizziness and light-headedness make him feel like he is floating, but he isn't in pain and can move freely. Too freely, he realizes as he looks up and starts floating in that direction.
"Where am I?" he asks, addressing his question to no one in particular.
"Right where you belong," the voice hisses as Todd feels something slither across his back. Turing, he only finds more blackness behind him. "This is the twilight realm! The source of all dark magic, and home to creatures like us. I have brought your subconscious here while your body rests."
"Dark magic is evil! I could never belong here! What are you? Show yourself!"
"Bwahaha! You are such a righteous one, Dark Master, but I think you are confused."
"I'm not a master of anything! Even if I was, then you would have to listen to me! Let me go!"
The voice roars with laughter so loud that it hurts his ears."You are confused! About who you are, about who I am, and about the very magic you possess!"
"Fine, if you are so smart, why don't you tell me how I am wrong?"
A large yellow eye opens just in front of Todd, causing him to scream and float downward. The eye is as big as his body and looks reptilian. After a moment, Todd notes that, while fierce, it does not look angry or malicious.
"Who are you?" Todd questions.
"Who, me? I have many names, but I prefer Tenebris. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
"Umm sure... so are you like a snake or something?"
The voice roars louder with laughter. "I'm not like anything else, Dark Master; however, I'm a dragon. You may have heard of the dark dragon of legend, have you not?"
Tenebris appears before Todd. He is massive, scales roughly as long as Todd is tall, wings that stretch for miles, a metallic shine that allows him to stand out in the black back ground. The underside of his wings are yellow, and his teeth are a brilliant white.
"The one that engulfs the world in blackness and smothers the sun every night to bring about the night?" Todd asks, remembering an old fairytale he had heard as a cautionary tale to scare kids out of trying dark magic.
"Is that what they say? I suppose that is me. However, much like dark magic, I believe myself to be misunderstood in today's society."
"How so?"
"Dark magic isn't something to fear, young master. Rather, it is a tool given to humanity for the upcoming war. A tool that has been abandoned after a single misuse. It's sad. Fire mages caused the massacre of howldale, and that isn't even recorded in history books. Yet, one dark master uses greater aura of decay to level a city, and it's an evil form of magic forever."
"What?"
"Never mind that, I do not have much time. You will wake up soon, and there is much you must know!" The dragon lays down in front of you. "Come with me, quickly."
"You want me to ride you like a giant horse?" Tenebris glares at Todd and snorts, blowing dark flames out of its nostrils that singe his cloak. "Okay, okay, coming."
As soon as Todd finds a way to lay on the dragon's smooth back scales, Tenebris flaps his wings and takes off. As he flies, the blackness around the pair swirls and changes into images. They fly by. Wars, armies, wizards, castles, a large black smudge, and crumbling landscapes. Finally, the scene settles on a large empty field, similar to the one that was ignited with dark flames.
"Here we are: the field of honor! This is where the original dragon pact was made!" Tenebris says as he lands in the middle of the field. "Here we can make a pact as all Masters of magic have in the past. Are you ready?"
"Sure," Todd answers, convinced that this is some sort of crazy dream. "Can I go home after we are done making pacts?"
"Unfortunately, you will have to. It's unlikely that I see you again soon, but you have much to learn. Todd, these are troubled times for dark magic. We find ourselves at a crossroads. Only you can restore the reputation of dark magic and save the known world from its ignorance. It will not be easy, but do you swear to restore Dark magic to its rightful place among the other branches of magic? Do you also swear to defend human and dragon kind from the wrath of Luxifer, even if it means giving up your very life?"
"Do I get anything from this pact?"
"That's a fair question. I will give you the power to fight, and together we will change the world!"
"Sure, why not," Todd sighs with a shrug.
"Very well! I grant you the title of Dark Master, along with all of my power. When you need me, I shall be by your side," Tenebris bellows.
After bowing his head to Todd, a gesture that Todd matches with a bow of his own, he roars, rears back, and breathes dark fire into the sky.
"Now return, and I shall guide you from the shadows," Tenebris says.
Todd feels a tug in his stomach and realizes that Tenebris is either getting smaller or he is falling. The sensation growing in his stomach tells his it's the latter as he accelerates downward.
After a moment, this feeling passes. Todd feels weightless. He is in a free-fall towards nowhere in particular. Eventually, he notices his body below him. Falling from darkness back into his body, he braces for impact and closes his eyes.